Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 2

37:3). The “son of his features” (ikunim, playing on zikunim, “old age”), for he resembled his father very closely. R. Ishmael said: He was called the son of his old age because Joseph sustained his father and his brethren (ibid. 47:12). That is, he fulfilled a son’s obligation to his aged father. Because Joseph foresaw in his dream that he was destined to rule, and related this fact to his father, his brothers were incensed at him.

And Joseph brought an evil report of them to his father (ibid. 37:2). He told his father: “My brothers eat the limbs of living animals.” The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Be assured, you will be suspected of committing the very act you accused them of committing: And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians that did eat with him (ibid. 43:32). Because he spoke slander against them, his brothers became embittered, and set in motion the chain of events that resulted in the descent of our ancestors to their bondage in Egypt for four hundred years.

And Jacob said to him: “Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren … and he came to Shechem (ibid. 37:14).1B. Sanhedrin 10:29. This place had previously been designated for punishment. Dinah was dishonored in Shechem, Joseph was sold in Shechem,2Dothan, the place where Joseph was sold, was in the vicinity of Shechem; in addition, tradition maintains that he was buried in Shechem. and David’s kingdom was divided at Shechem: Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (I Kings 12:25). And a certain man found him (Gen. 37:15). The man referred to is none other than (the angel) Gabriel, as it is said: The man Gabriel (Dan. 9:21). And they saw him from afar … and they took him, and cast him into the pit (Gen. 37:18, 24). The pit was empty of water, but it contained snakes and scorpions. What did Reuben do? He remained upon one of the hills nearby in order to rescue Joseph during the night. However, the nine other brothers stayed together in another place, all in agreement that he should die.

When a group of Ishmaelites passed by, they said to each other: Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites (ibid., v. 27). They took him to the edge of the desert, where they sold him for twenty pieces of silver. Each one obtained, thereby, two pieces of silver with which to purchase a pair of shoes. If you are surprised that a youth as handsome as he was sold for merely twenty pieces of silver, remember that when he was hurled into the pit, he was so fearful of the snakes and scorpions within it that his features were altered. The blood rushed from him, and his countenance turned pale. Therefore, they were forced to sell him for twenty pieces of silver, the value of a pair of shoes for each of them.

Then they decided: “Let us make a vow of excommunication among ourselves, lest one of us be tempted to tell our father, Jacob.” Whereupon Judah said: “Reuben is not here, and a vow of excommunication cannot be executed unless ten witnesses are present.” What did they do? They included the Holy One, blessed be He, in their pact of excommunication (by which they agreed) not to tell their father what had transpired.

When Reuben descended to the pit during the night to rescue his brother, and found that Joseph was no longer there, he tore his clothing and wept. He returned to his brothers and told them: The child is not; and as for me, whither shall I go? (ibid., v. 30). They related to him what had transpired and told him about the pact they had entered into. And he remained silent. Though it is written about the Holy One, blessed be He: He declareth His word to Jacob (Ps. 147:19), He did not disclose this matter to him because of the pact of excommunication. That is why Jacob said: Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces (Gen. 37:33). R. Mana maintained: The tribes were punished because they sold Joseph, and their sin was not forgiven until they died. Hence Scripture says of them: Surely, this iniquity shall not be expiated by you until you die (Isa. 22:17).

It was because of this episode that a famine befell Canaan, compelling Joseph’s ten brothers to descend to Egypt to buy grain, where they discovered that Joseph was still alive. (Only then) did they abrogate the pact of excommunication and Jacob learned that Joseph was alive. It is written about him: The spirit of Jacob their father revived (Gen. 45:27). Had his spirit actually died? No! His spirit was revived from the despair that resulted from the vow of excommunication they had entered into, and the Holy Spirit had departed from him because of it, but now it hovered over him once again.

R. Akiba declared: A pact of excommunication and an oath are actually one and the same. You learn this from Joshua, who placed Jericho under a ban. Achan was burned to death when he violated the ban by taking things from Jericho and hiding them in his tents. These (things) were the cloaks and the golden tongues from inside the mouths of the idols at Jericho, upon which an unclean (i.e., idolatrous) name had been engraved. Because he violated the pact of excommunication, thirty-six Israelites perished,3The members of Achan’s family. See B. Sanhedrin 44a. and Joshua rent his clothes and prostrated himself upon the ground before the ark. And the Lord said unto Joshua: “Get thee up; wherefore, now, art thou fallen upon thy face? Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, etc. (Josh. 7:10). Why is the word gam (variously translated “yea” and “also” in the preceding passage) repeated five times in this verse? To teach us that whosoever violates a vow of excommunication is considered to be transgressing against the Five Books of Moses. For all other sins, the guilty one is punished, but for the violation of an oath of excommunication the transgressor and all mankind are punished, as it is said: Therefore doth the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein doth languish (Hos. 4:3), and elsewhere it states: Therefore, hath a curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein are found guilty (Isa. 24:6). Similarly, you find that it is said about Achan: Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass against the banned things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And that man perished not alone in his iniquity (Josh. 22:20).

When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Joshua that Israel had sinned, he asked: “Who is the culprit? Am I an informer? He replied. Draw lots to discover the guilty one. Whereupon he drew lots and the lot fell up Achan. Achan cried out: “You decided that I was guilty simply by drawing lots, but if you had drawn lots between yourself and Elazar the priest, then one of you would have been proven guilty.” Then Joshua glanced at the twelve stones on the ephod that was suspended over the heart of the high priest, and observed that the stone of the tribe of Judah had grown dim. The stones always rendered their verdict in this way. When a tribe performed a meritorious deed, its stone would sparkle and glow brightly, but if a tribe transgressed, its stone grew dim. When Joshua saw this, he said to Achan: My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him (Josh. 7:19). Immediately Achan answered and said: “Of a truth I have sinned.” And Joshua said: “Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day” (Josh. 7:25); that is to say, on this day you will be troubled, but you will have a share in the world-to-come.4All who confess their sins have a share in the world-to-come.

A proof of the power of excommunication is indicated by what occurred to the tribes that became incensed over what had happened to a single concubine at Gibeah but were not aroused by the idols made by Micah.5See Judg. 18–20. Many thousands of the tribe of Benjamin were slain on three different occasions but after they repented and prostrated themselves before the Ark, the Holy One, blessed be He, become reconciled with them? Thereupon they made a pact of excommunication, that every Israelite from the youngest to the oldest should come to the Lord (by doing good deeds), as it is said: For they made a great oath concerning him that came not unto the Lord to do good deeds, saying: He shall surely be put to death (Judg. 21:5). Though an oath was taken there, it was called a pact of excommunication to teach us that an oath and a ban of excommunication are identical. Because the men of Jabesh-Gilead did not come unto the Lord, they were sentenced to death.

Furthermore, you may learn this as well from Saul the son of Kish, who said: Cursed be the man that eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on my enemies (I Sam. 14:24). No one was to taste any food, but Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath; and he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it into the honeycomb (ibid., v. 27). When Saul realized that the Philistines were overpowering the Israelites, he understood that someone had violated the oath. He examined the ephod and discovered that the stone of the tribe of Benjamin had grown dim. He cast lots between himself and his son Jonathan, and the lot indicated that Jonathan was responsible. He grasped his sword to slay him, as it is said: (Saul said:) “God do so and more also; thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.” And the people said unto Saul: “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel?” (ibid., vv. 44–45).

The Cuthites are not counted among the seventy nations of the world, for they are considered to be a remnant of one of the five nations that the king of Asshur had settled upon the land, as it is said: And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria (II Kings 17:24). R. Yosé stated: He added four additional peoples to them, thus making nine nations in all: The Dinites, and the Apharsattechites, the Tarpelites, the Apharesites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites … who were brought over (Ezra 4:9).

After the Israelites were expelled from Samaria, Sennacherib stationed his officers there to collect taxes for his government from those he had settled there. The Holy One, blessed be He, sent lions among them, as it is said: Therefore the Lord hath sent lions among them, which killed some of them (II Kings 17:25). The tax collectors sent a message to him, saying: The nations which thou hast carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land; therefore He hath sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them (ibid., vv. 26–27). Whereupon he summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them: “During the years in which you dwelt in your land, wild beasts never devoured you; why is this happening now?” They whispered to each other: “Let us all give the same answer and perhaps he will permit us to return.” They told him: “That land welcomes no one who does not occupy himself with the Torah and is uncircumcised.” “Then select two men from among you,” he replied, “to go there and instruct them.” Since a king’s command may not be rescinded, they sent R. Dostai the son of Yannai and R. Sabaya there. They taught them the written Torah in abbreviated form.

Even though the inhabitants of Samaria feared God, they also worshipped their own gods. They did so until Ezra returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his officers to build the Temple, as it is said: Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Sheatiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build (Ezra 5:2). Soon thereafter, one hundred and eighty thousand Samaritans attacked them. Were they actually Samaritans? Indeed not. They were, in fact, Cuthites, who were called Samaritans only because they lived in Samaria. Furthermore, they conspired to kill Nehemiah, as it is said: Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of One (Neh. 6:2). They halted the work of rebuilding the Temple of the Holy One, blessed be He, for two years, as is said: Then ceased the work of the House of God that was in Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia (Ezra 4:24).

What did Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua do? First, they summoned the entire community to the House of the Lord. They brought there three hundred priests, three hundred books of the law, three hundred shofars, and three hundred children. The children blew the shofars, and the Levites chanted and sang. After that, they proclaimed the ban, the curse, and the excommunication against the Samaritans with the secret of the ineffable Name and the writing used on the tablets (of the Decalogue), and the excommunication of the heavenly and earthly courts, so that no Israelite would henceforth eat the bread of a Cuthite. As a result of this episode, our sages said that anyone who ate the bread of a Cuthite would be considered as eating the meat of a pig, and that no Cuthite could be admitted into the ranks of Israel, nor could they participate in the resurrection of the dead, as it is said: It is not for you, but for us, to build the house of God (Ezra 4:3), And ye have no portion, no right, no memorial in Jerusalem (Neh. 2:20). They wrote out the ban, sealed it, and sent it to the Israelites who were in Babylon, and these added other decrees against them. King Cyrus also established an everlasting ban against them, as it is said: May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples that shall put forth their hand to alter the same (Ezra 6:12).

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